Gravedigger Stumbles Upon 2.4 Kilograms of Gold in Cirebon

A gravedigger named Abas in Cirebon, West Java, experienced an unexpected windfall whilst working with his colleagues, discovering a treasure trove of gold weighing 2.4 kilograms. The story began when Abas and nine of his co-workers were preparing for their routine duties at the Gerbang Ilir Cemetery on 8 November 1989. They were digging a grave for a recently deceased resident named Sabur. A grave measuring 2x1 metres had to be prepared quickly before the body arrived. They hurriedly brought hoes and shovels and walked to the burial site, which was still shrouded in morning dew.

Whilst digging, Abas suddenly heard a strange sound from the earth. It was not the soft sound of soil or the hardness of rock, but the clinking of metal. "At first, it sounded like limestone," Abas told Suara Karya on 10 November 1989. However, upon inspection, it turned out he had struck a round metal object embedded in the ground. Sensing something unusual, the diggers continued their work more carefully. They deepened the excavation to waist height. Little by little, more strange objects were found: two elongated pieces of metal and 27 other round metal objects, each weighing between 0.5 and 1 kilogram. The peak of their astonishment came when Abas brushed away the soil and found a glittering object. When lifted, it turned out to be two gold crowns. The incident immediately attracted the attention of local residents.

According to the daily Merdeka on 10 November 1989, the two gold crowns were 24 carats, each weighing 1.2 kilograms, making a total of 2.4 kilograms of pure gold. At that time, the price of 1 gram of gold was only Rp10,000, valuing the find at Rp24 million. In that era, such a sum was extraordinarily large; with petrol priced at only Rp150 per litre, Rp24 million could buy approximately 160,000 litres of fuel. If valued at today’s gold price of around Rp2.7 million per gram, the two crowns would be worth approximately Rp6.48 billion. Following the discovery, all objects were handed over to the police, including the other metals found. It was never disclosed whether Abas and his colleagues received any reward for the find. The origin of the crowns discovered in the grave also remains unknown. There are no inscriptions or historical symbols to explain them, only a cross-shaped engraving on their surface. As a result of the find, the cemetery complex was eventually closed by the authorities. The site is suspected to still contain other treasures, so it is no longer used for public burials.