A natural treasure thousands of years old, protected by law since 2008 - and yet someone "thought" to privately charge admission to it. The Stone Dolls of Kuklica near Kratovo, one of the rarest geomorphological wonders in the country, have become a symbol of how the state leaves its gems to fend for themselves.

The site holds around 150 earthen pyramids between four and ten metres tall, shaped by millennia of erosion on volcanic rock. Folklore says they are petrified wedding guests from a cursed "merry wedding" - but science is more prosaic: the formations are up to 20,000 years old, not millions, as is sometimes claimed.

The problem is different and more down-to-earth. According to sources, private individuals with no legal basis whatsoever have set up makeshift barriers and have for years been charging admission from local and foreign tourists. The promised ranger service doesn't function on the ground, there are no physical barriers to stop visitors trampling the fragile rock, and the new info-centre - though it literally overshadows the site - is rarely open.

The price of this neglect is measurable. Scientists estimate the best-known cluster of figures will last only another 500 to 700 years - and that span could be halved if the trampling and poor management continue. The Kratovo municipality, the Environment Ministry and the Culture Ministry have been passing the responsibility back and forth for decades.

And here's the heart of it. When no institution wants to be the owner, someone always shows up to collect as if they were. The Stone Dolls survived thousands of years on their own; the question is whether they'll survive a few more decades of our care.