A real race for uncovering Thracian treasures before the tombs were looted had began in Bulgaria, National Geographic magazine said in its article Bulgaria's Gold Rush.

Bulgaria was El Dorado for treasure hunters, a vast trove of buried treasure where some graves have harboured gold since at least 4000 BC, the magazine said.

Officially the state possesses Bulgaria's ancient treasures. The law was followed strictly during the communist era and numerous unique ancient artifacts have been found and given to the authorities.

By that time Bulgaria's factories produced everything needed for the population and in risking to sell treasures on the black market was not worth it, National Geographic said.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria's economy was affected too. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs and some of them are still unemployed. Those who work, earn around $200 a month.

With the former middle class flat broke, many have taken up looting to earn a living, the report said. A 'black archeology' appeared.

Nikolai Ovcharov, one of Bulgaria's most prominent archaeologists, said that the artifacts business was more profitable than the drug trafficking.