Experts are appealing for these rare dolmens dating back thousands of years to be protected claiming that treasure hunters are plundering them daily.

The 3,500-year-old dolmens, which are structures made of large flat stones placed on vertical stones that were typically used as tombs and places of ritual worship, has survived throughout the ages ever since they were built by the Thracians.

The Thracians were an ancient people who mainly lived in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and south-eastern Europe and much of their origins can only be speculated about due to a lack of data, with experts believing that they descended from proto-Indo-Europeans and early European farmers.

The Greeks and the Romans described them as a “tribal” people and now these relics of their civilisation are reportedly under threat every day with experts saying that treasure hunters are damaging them by performing illegal archaeological excavations.

Experts have dated the stone structures to the earliest phases of the Bronze Age, which officially took place from circa 3, 300 BC to circa 1,200 BC.

Professor Engin Beksac, the Head of the Art History Department at Trakya University, which incidentally is also known as the University of Thrace and which is located in Edirne, a city in north-western Turkey on the European side of the country, said that the dolmens, which are among the oldest and most important artefacts from the Thracian civilisation to have survived, are being damaged due to illegal excavations.

He said that there are over 60 dolmens in the area and has warned that the priceless historical artefacts are at risk of being wiped off the map forever. He said: “The dolmens are being destroyed very quickly. Today we see the dolmens, which were in much better condition in the past, in a state of severe damage or destruction. I am very sorry for this.

“Treasure hunters have a crazy curiosity about dolmens, treasure hunters have a great role in the destruction of dolmens. There is nothing of value. There is no possibility to get any valuable material from here. There is no understanding of putting valuable materials there during the period when the dolmens were used. I could not find even skeletal remains in most of the excavations I did.

“Because we see that most of them were not used as tombs. These structures were used for rituals at certain times of the year. They are cult monuments. They are empty inside. There are only ceramics around them. Metal materials other than these have no value.”

But the expert stressed that quite apart from being intrinsically valuable historical artefacts, the dolmens were valuable to local tourism.

He has appealed for the authorities to make every effort to preserve the artefacts so that they may be used for touristic purposes and more importantly, preserved for future generations.

Explaining the touristic value, Professor Beksac said: “These artefacts form the basis of cultural tourism. In all countries where dolmens are located, these artefacts hold a very important place. Dolmen tours and excursions are held here. Especially in recent times, dolmens have ceremonies and tours.”

It is unclear if the Turkish authorities have taken any steps to protect the valuable monuments.