Construction Workers Unearth Gold Bars and Coins Valued at Over $10 Million in Belgian Renovation
Renovation crews in Dendermonde, Belgium, discovered roughly 50 gold bars and numerous coins hidden in a cellar wall, prompting police to secure the treasure and warn the public to stay away.
Renovation workers in the east Flemish town of Dendermonde reported finding a large quantity of gold while excavating a cellar for a sewer pipe. The haul, estimated at about nine million euros (approximately $10.4 million), included around 50 gold bars and multiple piles of coins that had been bricked into the walls of a house owned by the local charity CAW East-Flanders. Police were contacted immediately, photographed the find and posted the images on social media. The authorities said the gold was "inventoried and secured as quickly as possible in a high-security vault belonging to the federal government services."
"Let us hope that this treasure ends up in the right hands," a police post read, adding a warning that treasure hunters should stay away from the fenced-off site. The legal ownership of the gold remains unclear.
One worker, identified only as Kobe, told a Belgian news outlet that the crew's initial reaction was disbelief and amazement at the unexpected discovery.