Clambering on the oldest historical monuments in Europe, the hunebedden, may become a thing of the past, local broadcaster RTV Drenthe reported at the weekend.

In a bid to discourage people – mostly children-  from climbing on the ancient tombs which date form 3400 BC, the Hunebed Centre in Borger and landscape protection organisation Stichting het Drentse Landschap placed a sign prohibiting the activity at the Borger hunebedden at the weekend.

The organisations say clambering over the monuments is ‘not respectful’ and ‘dangerous’. ‘We have to respect our heritage and the great age of these monuments’, Hein Klompmaker of the Hunebed Centre told the broadcaster. ‘That means we want all climbing to stop, and we’re starting here in Borger.’

The move comes after a group of Indian tourists said they were appalled at how the ancestral graves were treated, the AD writes.

People can take photos, or touch the monument but the climbing simply has to stop, Klompmaker says. ‘If a child bounces off the hunebed and needs to be taken to hospital by a trauma helicopter it tells you something. These are not certified climbing frames ,’ RTV Drenthe quotes him as saying.

There will be no fines for people who climb the hunebedden but there will be more controls.

Reactions from the public have been mixed. ‘They are not likely to fall down, are they?’ one member of the public tweeted while another said it needs to be made clearer that the monuments are actually graves.