Photo
c edit:
Facebook/De de mo de
Local
Police
Fo
a
stude t
with
a
summe
job
wo ki g
o
a
Belgia
buildi g
site,
“mo ey
dow
the
d ai ”
has
take
o
a
whole
ew
mea i g.
Excavati g
the
t e ches
fo
a
sewage
system,
18-yea -old
Kobe
stumbled
ac oss
a
hidde
t ove
of
gold
wo th
a
estimated
€9
millio
(£8
millio ).
Acco di g
to
a
epo t
by
The
Gua dia ,
the
discove y
was
made
o
the
site
of
a
fo me
b ewe y
i
Si t-Gillis-De de mo de,
about
19
miles
o th-west
of
B ussels.
What
bega
as
a
outi e
Tuesday
mo i g
quickly
tu ed
i to
o e
of
the
most
ema kable
t easu e
fi ds
i
ece t
Belgia
histo y.
shocki g
discove y
sudde ly
saw
somethi g
lyi g
the e,”
Kobe
told
the
Belgia
ews
etwo k
VTM.
“At
fi st
I
thought
it
was
€1
coi s.
So
we
sta ted
diggi g
them
up.
The
we
saw
a
gold
ba .
It
tu ed
out
to
be
a
bit
mo e
tha
we
thought.”Kobe
a d
his
colleagues
we e
wo ki g
o
the
site
of
a
fo me
b ewe y
o
Va
La ge hovest aat
whe
they
made
the
discove y.
The
hoa d,
which
i cludes
gold
coi s,
uggets
a d
umbe ed
bullio
ba s,
was
stashed
i
a
bag
i
a
b icked-i
cella
wall
be eath
the
g a d
villa
o igi ally
built
fo
the
b ewe y’s
ow e ,
Theophilus
Va
Assche,
i
the
late
19th
ce tu y.
“It’s
just
ot
somethi g
you
expect
whe
you’ e
wo ki g
o
a
egula
Tuesday
mo i g,”
Kobe
said,
addi g
that
the
t easu e
t ove
appea ed
to
have
bee
delibe ately
hidde ,
as
pe
the
epo t.
“It
was
eally
b icked
i
the e
–
ot
i
a
safe
o
a ythi g.”
histo ic
p ope ty
o
the
site
bega
i
1899
a d
ceased
i
1970,
a d
the
listed
p ope ty,
the
w ought-i o
gates
of
which
still
bea
the
i itials
“VA”,
is
bei g
completely
e ovated
by
the
social
welfa e
o ga isatio
CAW
Oost-Vlaa de e
to
c eate
ew
offices
a d
housi g.“The
B ouwe shuis
was
a
beautiful
buildi g,
but
it
is
bei g
completely
gutted,”
Gee t
Hillae t,
of
CAW,
told
the
ews
outlet
HLN.
“Ultimately,
o ly
the
walls
will
emai .
Labou e s
we e
layi g
d ai age
pipes
whe
they
stumbled
ac oss
the
gold.”Kobe
a d
his
colleagues
called
the
police
a d
otified
CAW
as
soo
as
they
came
ac oss
the
gold
hoa d.
The
t easu e
has
si ce
bee
t a sfe ed
to
a
secu e
facility
i
B ussels
pe di g
a
detailed
official
i vestigatio
to
establish
its
legal
ow e ship.
complex
legal
questio
Ollevie ,
of
the
East
Fla de s
public
p osecuto ’s
office,
told
HLN
that
autho ities
must
fi st
ve ify
that
the
bullio
was
ot
stole
p ope ty
o
the
p oceeds
of
c imi al
activity,
a d
was
likely
to
spa k
a
complex
civil
dispute.The
buildi g
co t acto s,
the
welfa e
o ga isatio
a d
a y
desce da ts
of
the
o ce-wealthy
Va
Assche
family
could
all
have
a
claim
to
pa t
of
the
fo tu e.
Belgia
law
equi es
fi de s
to
wait
at
least
five
yea s
fo
pote tial
ow e s
to
claim
a y
t easu e.A
fo me
mayo
of
De de mo de,
Piet
Buyse,
told
HLN
that
the
Va
Assche’s
fo tu e
had
“ce tai ly
stayed
i
the
family.
It
would ’t
su p ise
me
at
all
if
they
had
decided
to
put
at
least
some
of
it
i
gold,
a d
the
to
hide
it
i
a
safe
place.”
fi de ’s
ewa d?
his
pa t,
Kobe
said
he
a d
his
colleagues
had
u de stood
st aight
away
that
they
had
to
ha d
ove
such
a
big
fi d.
“If
it
had
bee
a
few
coi s,
maybe
ot,”
he
said.
“But
maybe
we’ll
get
some
ki d
of
fi de ’s
ewa d
eve tually.”U de
Belgia
law,
if
o
ightful
ow e
comes
fo wa d
withi
five
yea s,
the
t easu e
ca
be
divided
betwee
the
fi de
a d
the
p ope ty
ow e ,
p ovided
it
is
ot
associated
with
a
c ime.
o ce-i -a-lifetime
fi d
discove y
has
captu ed
the
imagi atio
of
people
ac oss
Belgium
a d
beyo d.
Fo
Kobe,
it
is
a
o ce-i -a-lifetime
expe ie ce
that
has
tu ed
a
o di a y
summe
job
i to
a
ext ao di a y
sto y.“We
kept
u ea thi g
mo e
coi s
a d
ba s.
It
was
o ly
the
that
it
eally
sa k
i
what
we’d
fou d.
It
was
a
st a ge
feeli g,”
he
said.Fo
ow,
the
gold
emai s
i
secu e
sto age
while
i vestigato s
wo k
to
dete mi e
its
o igi
a d
ow e ship.
But
fo
Kobe
a d
his
colleagues,
the
memo y
of
that
Tuesday
mo i g
will
last
a
lifetime.