This direct quote from the article seems to avert that exact issue: > Istanbul's Byzantine basement surfeit survives in part thanks to a 1980s cultural heritag

This direct quote from the article seems to avert that exact issue: > Istanbul's Byzantine basement surfeit survives in part thanks to a 1980s cultural heritage code that allows people who find something ancient on their property to keep it, without worrying that the government will seize it. > "Thanks to this new law, a lot of historical things were protected by the locals in Istanbul," Ozgumus says. "Before, they were destroying it."