A Student In Belgium Was Digging In A Sewer When He Stumbled Upon A Treasure Worth Millions Of Euros

• 16.08.2026, 8:43

The gold was hidden on the grounds of a former brewery, 30 km northwest of Brussels.

An 18-year-old Belgian student made an unusual discovery while laying sewer pipes at the site of a former brewery. At first, he thought he had dug up ordinary one-euro coins, but among them he found a gold bar—and not just one.

This was reported by The Guardian.

At first, the find didn’t seem unusual to the student. According to him, he thought they were one-euro coins.

“At first, I thought they were 1-euro coins. So we started digging them up. Then we saw a gold bar,” the young man said.

It eventually turned out that the gold they found could be worth about 9 million euros.

Where the treasure was hidden

The discovery was made on the grounds of a former brewery, about 30 km northwest of Brussels. The treasure consisted of gold coins and numbered bars. They were found in a bag walled up in the basement of a large villa.

The house was built for the brewery owner in 1899, at the end of the 19th century. The site is currently being renovated by a social welfare organization, which plans to build offices and housing there.

The gold was handed over to the police

The student and his colleagues immediately reported the discovery to the police and representatives of the organization carrying out the renovation. The hoard has already been transported to a secure location in Brussels. Now the authorities must conduct an official investigation to determine its rightful owner.

The East Flanders Public Prosecutor’s Office noted that the origin of the gold must first be verified—specifically, whether it was stolen or obtained through criminal activity.

In addition, several parties may lay claim to the treasure: construction contractors, a charitable organization, and possible descendants of the brewery’s owners.

Will the student receive a reward?

The student himself admitted that he and his colleagues immediately realized that such a find had to be handed over to the authorities.

“If it had been just a few coins, maybe not,” he said.

At the same time, the young man hopes that in the future, the person who finds a treasure will still receive some kind of reward.