Tel Aviv: A 3,500-year-old jar from the Middle Bronze Age, once used for oil and wine in ancient Canaan, was accidentally shattered by a young boy at Israel’s Hecht Museum in Haifa last week. The incident occurred when a 4-year-old curious child, visiting the museum with his family, tried to peer inside the jar, causing it to topple from its metal stand and break into pieces.
The Hecht Museum is known for its practice of displaying priceless archaeological items without glass barriers to enhance visitor experience. “The jar on display at the Hecht Museum, however, was intact, and its size made it an impressive find, positioned at the entrance of the museum,” Dr Inbal Rivlin, the museum’s general director, said in an emailed statement on Wednesday, as mentioned by The New York Times.
The Hecht Museum, part of the University of Haifa, said the pitcher, dating from between 2200 and 1500 B.C., predating the era of King David and his son and successor, King Solomon would be professionally restored in a process that would also be open for the public to watch, according to the report.
Despite the accident, Dr Rivlin noted that the museum will continue to maintain its open-display policy for artefacts. “There are instances where display items are intentionally damaged, and such cases are treated with great severity, including involving the police,” Dr Rivlin said. However, this incident was not intentional, he added. The family, who was not identified, has been invited back for a visit to see the restored piece.
Dr. Reuben Hecht, who passed away in 1993, was an influential Israeli industrialist and philanthropist who donated his extensive collection of Middle Eastern archaeological artefacts and 19th-century paintings to the museum.
