An 18-year-old student working during the summer on a construction site in Belgium made a remarkable discovery while excavating trenches for a sewage system: a cache of gold valued at approximately 9 million euros (US$10.4 million).

Kobe, the student, recounted the moment to the Belgian news outlet VTM, stating, “We suddenly noticed something on the ground. Initially, I thought they were €1 coins. As we began to dig, we uncovered a gold bar, which turned out to be more than we had expected.”

The unidentified student and his coworkers were on the grounds of a former brewery located on Van Langenhovestraat in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, situated around 30 kilometers northwest of Brussels, when they made this extraordinary find.

The treasure, consisting of gold coins, nuggets, and numbered bullion bars, was concealed within a bag embedded in a bricked cellar wall beneath a historic villa that was originally constructed for Theophilus Van Assche, the brewery’s owner, in the late 1800s.

The brewing operations at this site began in 1899 and continued until 1970. The property, which still features wrought-iron gates marked with the initials “VA,” is currently undergoing extensive renovations by the social welfare organization CAW Oost-Vlaanderen, aimed at transforming it into new office spaces and housing.

Geert Hillaert from CAW remarked to HLN, “The Brouwershuis was an impressive building, but it is being entirely stripped down. In the end, only the walls will remain. The workers were installing drainage pipes when they stumbled upon the gold.”

Upon discovering the treasure, Kobe and his colleagues promptly contacted the police and informed CAW. The gold has since been moved to a secure location in Brussels, where it will undergo a thorough investigation to determine its rightful ownership.

Hanne Ollevier from the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office stated to HLN that officials will first need to confirm that the bullion is not stolen or acquired through criminal means, which could lead to a complex civil dispute over ownership.

Potential claimants to the treasure could include the construction company, the welfare organization, and any heirs of the Van Assche family, who were once affluent. Belgian legislation necessitates that finders wait a minimum of five years for any potential owners to assert their claims on discovered treasure.

Piet Buyse, a former mayor of Dendermonde, commented to HLN that the Van Assche family’s wealth had “certainly remained within the family. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had chosen to store some of it in gold and hidden it away securely.”

As for Kobe, he and his colleagues were aware of the importance of reporting such a significant find. “If it had just been a few coins, we might have thought differently,” he said. “But maybe we’ll eventually receive some form of finder’s reward.”

近日，比利时一名18岁学生在暑期打工时，意外挖出了一批价值约900万欧元的黄金，包括金条、金币和金块，引发广泛关注。

这名学生名叫科比，当时正在比利时东佛兰德省圣希利斯-登德蒙德市一旧啤酒厂遗址挖掘排污沟渠。他和工友们施工时注意到地面有些异样。“一开始我以为是一欧元的硬币，”科比回忆道，“但当我们往下挖，竟然挖出了金条，比预想的要多得多。”

发现地点位于布鲁塞尔西北约30公里处，原址是一座建于19世纪末的啤酒厂。宝藏被藏在一栋别墅地下酒窖的砖墙内，装在一个袋子中。这栋别墅最初是为啤酒厂主西奥菲勒斯·范阿舍建造的。宝藏中包含金币、金块以及带编号的金条。

据记载，该啤酒厂酿造业务始于1899年，持续至1970年。如今，这处产业正由社会福利组织CAW东佛兰德进行大规模翻修，计划改造为办公空间和住宅。

CAW组织的吉尔特·希拉尔特表示：“啤酒厂别墅正在被彻底拆除，工人们安装排水管道时，意外挖到了黄金。”

发现黄金后，科比和工友们第一时间联系了警方并通知了雇主。随后，宝藏被转移至布鲁塞尔的安全地点，等待进一步调查。

东佛兰德省检察院的汉娜·奥利维尔表示，官方需先确认这些金条并非盗窃或犯罪所得。如来源合法，将进入民事所有权纠纷程序。按照比利时法律，发现者须等待至少五年，以便潜在所有者主张权利。

这批黄金究竟归谁？潜在主张者可能包括施工公司、社会福利组织CAW及范阿舍家族继承人。登德蒙德市前市长皮特·拜瑟评论说，范阿舍家族有可能将部分财富换成黄金藏匿起来。

对于科比来说，这次暑期打工经历终身难忘。他和工友们认识到，如此重大的发现必须依法上报。“如果只是几枚硬币，我们可能会有不同想法，”科比说，“但发现这么多金条，我们选择第一时间报告。也许最终还能获得一笔发现者奖金。”

目前，黄金的具体价值和归属仍在进一步调查中。该事件在比利时国内引发热议，也吸引了国际媒体的关注。一次普通的工地打工，竟意外揭开了埋藏地下数十年的财富秘密，这个暑假无疑将成为科比人生中最不可思议的一段经历。

(Translated by DeepSeek)