{
  "id": 1268010,
  "title": "Teen student finds €9 million gold treasure while digging sewer line in Belgium: ‘Coins, nuggets, bullion bars’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/teen-student-finds-9-million-gold-treasure-while-digging-sewer-line",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-16T12:19:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times - World News",
    "slug": "hindustan-times-world-news",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/teen-student-finds-9-million-gold-treasure-while-digging-sewer-line-in-belgium-coins-nuggets-bullion-bars-101786880897339.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On a regular Tuesday morning, an 18-year-old Belgian student named Kobe was working on trenching for a sewage system at a former brewery site in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde, when he stumbled upon a concealed treasure trove worth an estimated €9 million (₹85.90 crore). Kobe informed his colleagues, who together dug up gold coins, nuggets, and bullion bars. The hoard was found inside a bricked-in cellar wall beneath a grand villa originally constructed for brewery owner Theophilus Van Assche in the late 19th century. The discovery includes coins, nuggets, and numbered bullion bars. Kobe and his team immediately alerted the police and the local authorities, CAW. The gold is currently being held in a secure facility in Brussels while the ownership is investigated. It remains unclear if the treasure was stolen or the proceeds of criminal activity, and if so, who is legally entitled to it. Under Belgian law, finders of treasure must wait at least five years to see if the rightful owners come forward.",
  "summary": "The gold has since been moved to a secure facility in Brussels while authorities investigate its ownership.",
  "key_points": [
    "18-year-old Belgian student Kobe discovers €9 million treasure.",
    "Gold coins, nuggets, and numbered bullion bars unearthed.",
    "Treasure held in secure Brussels facility while ownership investigated."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}