“Keep the treasure because the finds cannot be classified as archaeological remains,” said the Rhône prefecture after its investigations, according to Le Figaro.
The ruling ended a probe that began in May, when a Neuville-sur-Saône homeowner who had bought the property a year earlier used a mechanical digger to start a swimming-pool project and uncovered plastic bags filled with five gold bars and numerous coins. Municipal officials told Le Figaro the hoard was worth about 700,000 euros.
He notified the town hall the same day and informed the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles, meeting the legal requirement to declare buried discoveries.
Gendarmes determined the bullion had been melted in a Lyon-area company fifteen to twenty years ago and said serial numbers showed no link to theft or other crime, Le Figaro reported.
Authorities also searched for heirs to the deceased former owner of the land but found none, Sozcu wrote. With no archaeological value and no rival ownership claim, officials transferred the gold to the finder.
Local papers labeled him “the man who became rich while digging a pool,” noting that he refused media interviews.
The preparation of this article relied on a news-analysis system.