A rare Bronze Age jar dating back at least 3,500 years has long adorned the entrance to the Hecht Museum in Haifa, Israel, offering visitors an up-close look at the intact artifact thought to be older than the biblical Kings David and Solomon.
That was until my 4 year old accidentally broke it earlier this week.
“My first reaction was denial,” Alex, a father of a young child, told the Guardian. “I couldn’t believe my son had done it.”
His son wanted to know if there was anything inside the jar, which is thought to have been used to transport local goods such as wine and olive oil.
The museum has a tradition of making its exhibits as accessible as possible, avoiding glass display cases and barriers, which allowed the 4-year-old to grab the bottle. “He gave it a little tug … and it tipped over and fell,” his father said.
Terrified, the boy began crying, and his parents looked at the debris on the floor and struggled to figure out how best to deal with the situation. “At first we were shocked,” his father, Alex, said. “Then we felt a bit angry at him.”
The jar, on display at the Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa, is thought to have been used to carry wine or olive oil. Photo: Hecht Museum
After he and his wife calmed their child, the family approached security and admitted what had happened.
But they didn’t expect what happened next: “Instead of issuing fines or penalties, they invited us to come again,” Alex said.
The visit will include organized tours to make families’ previous museum experiences “even more enjoyable,” museum director Inbal Rivlin said in a statement.
She said: “There are cases where exhibits are deliberately vandalised and such cases are dealt with seriously, including involving the police. However, this was not the case here. The bottle was accidentally vandalised by a young child visiting the museum and will be dealt with accordingly.”
The museum recently began working with conservation experts to restore the jar, which dates to the Bronze Age, between 2200 B.C. and 1500 B.C. The artifact will be restored and returned to its original position by the family’s return this weekend, Rivlin said.
The museum said it was still considering whether the jar would be put on display again with added protective equipment. The museum, which is on the grounds of the University of Haifa and offers free admission, has long prided itself on making its archaeological finds, which date back to the Chalcolithic Age, as public as possible.
“The museum believes there is something special about experiencing an archaeological discovery without any obstacles,” Rivlin said, “and despite the unusual incident with the jar, the Hecht Museum will continue this tradition.”
