Commentary for Bava Metzia 48:2

ת"ש דאמר רב אסי מצא חבית יין בעיר שרובה כנענים מותרת משום מציאה ואסורה בהנאה בא ישראל ונתן בה סימן מותרת בשתיה למוצאה

Come and hear: R. Assi said: If one finds a barrel of wine in a town where the majority are heathens he is permitted [to keep it] as a find but he is forbidden to derive any benefit from it.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As the wine may have been used in connection with idol-worship and thus become [H] i.e., forbidden not only to be drunk by Jews but also to be utilised in any way that might yield profit or pleasure. ');">³</span> If an Israelite comes and indicates an identification mark in it the finder is permitted to drink it.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As the owner proves to be a Jew the prohibition relating to wine used in connection with idol-worship does not arise, and as the majority of the inhabitants of the place are heathens who do not return lost articles, the owner must be assumed to have abandoned the hope of recovering the lost goods. ');">⁴</span> Now this is obviously in accordance with the view of R. Simeon b. Eleazar.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Who maintains that in such a case the majority must be considered in deciding whether the finder is entitled to appropriate the article or not. ');">⁵</span>

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