Student stumbles on €9 million gold hoard during Belgian renovation

A routine renovation job turned into an extraordinary discovery for a Belgian construction student. Kobe Philips, on a work placement with De Brandt construction company, uncovered a hidden stash of gold bars and coins worth an estimated €9 million (about $10.4 million) at a historic building in Sint-Gillis-Dendermonde.

Philips was using a hammer drill on Tuesday morning when he noticed what initially looked like a row of one-euro coins. As he and his colleagues pulled at the objects, they realized they had found something far more valuable.

"We kept pulling things out, and it turned out to be quite a bit more than we expected," Philips said. He added that one small gold bar was even hooked onto their nail gun.

The treasure was found inside a wall of a building belonging to the Centre for General Social Work. The discovery has sparked local excitement, with the town briefly in the grip of a gold rush atmosphere.

Piet Buyse, a historian and former mayor of Dendermonde, offered a possible explanation for the hoard. He suggested the gold may have been hidden during the economic turmoil of the 1930s, when bank failures wiped out many people's savings. People may have chosen to store their wealth in a cellar rather than trust a bank.

Buyse stressed that this is only a theory. "I obviously wasn't there," he said, noting that the remarkable thing is that the treasure remained hidden for so long.

The workers immediately notified the relevant authorities and handed over the gold. Philips acknowledged the find was special and allowed for some dreaming, but said everyone knew they had to remain realistic and follow proper procedures.