What would you do if you drilled into a cellar wall and suddenly uncovered €9m in gold?
That is exactly what happened in eastern Belgium.
Where builders renovating a house reportedly discovered gold bars and coins hidden inside the building’s foundations.
The workers were installing new sewage pipes when they struck the unexpected stash.
Among them was 18-year-old summer worker Kobe, who initially thought he had found ordinary €1 coins. Then he spotted a gold nugget.
“At first I thought they were €1 coins,” he told Belgian broadcaster VRT. “That’s when we realised it was something bigger.”
Instead of pocketing the fortune, the workers called police.
Discovery Sparks Legal Battle
Authorities have since secured the gold and warned treasure hunters to stay away from the property.
It has reportedly been turned upside down by curious visitors.
But who gets to keep it? The building belongs to CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, a local welfare charity.
The builders could potentially have a claim under Belgian law.
The original owner has five years to come forward.
If nobody successfully claims the treasure, investigators find no connection to criminal activity.
The law could eventually divide the hoard between the finder and the property owner.
For now, however, everyone is waiting. And for once, “finders keepers” has a lot of paperwork attached.
