‘I couldn’t believe it was my son who did this’: 4-year-old boy smashes Bronze Age jar at Israeli museum | Israel

A rare Bronze Age jar — with a history dating back at least 3,500 years — has long graced the entrance to the Hecht Museum in Haifa, Israel, offering visitors a close-up look at an intact artifact believed to predate the biblical King David and King Solomon.

Until it was accidentally broken by a four-year-old earlier this week.

“My first reaction was to deny it,” the boy’s father told the Guardian. “I couldn’t believe it was my son who had done this.”

His son was curious to see if there was anything inside the pot, which would have been used to transport local provisions such as wine and olive oil.

Because the museum makes a point of making its objects as accessible as possible, avoiding glass cases and barriers, the four-year-old was able to grab the jar. “He gave the jar a little tug… that’s how the jar tipped over and fell,” his father said.

The boy, overcome with fear, began to cry. His parents looked at the pieces scattered on the floor, desperately trying to figure out how best to handle the situation. “At first I was shocked,” his father, Alex, said. “Then I felt a little angry with him.”

After he and his wife calmed the child, the family went to a security guard to tell him what had happened.

But they didn’t expect what was to come next. “Instead of fining us or sanctioning us, they invited us back,” Alex says.

This time, the visit would include an organized tour, with the aim of “making more enjoyable” the family’s previous experience at the museum, museum director Inbal Rivlin said in a statement.

She said: “There are cases where exhibits are intentionally damaged, and these cases are treated with the utmost severity, including by the police. In this case, however, this was not the case. The jar was accidentally damaged by a young child visiting the museum, and the response will be appropriate.”

In recent days, the museum began working with a conservation specialist to repair the pot, which dates to the Bronze Age, between 2200 and 1500 B.C. The object is expected to be restored and put back in place in time to welcome the family when they return this weekend, Rivlin said.

The museum said it had not yet been decided whether the pot would be put back on display with additional protective features. The museum, located on the grounds of the University of Haifa and with free admission, has made it a point of honor to make archaeological finds dating back to the Chalcolithic period as accessible as possible.

Rivlin said: “The museum believes that there is a special charm in discovering an archaeological find without any obstacles. And despite the rare incident with the jar, the Hecht Museum will continue this tradition.”