Museum Shares Heartwarming Update After Boy Accidentally Breaks Ancient Jar

It’s not every day that someone accidentally breaks a museum’s 3,500-year-old artifact and then gets invited back. But that’s exactly what happened to a 4-year-old who was welcomed back to Israel’s Hecht Museum on Friday. This came after he accidentally smashed an ancient jar in an incident that made parents everywhere shudder.

According to Dr. Inbal Rivlin, the museum’s general director, the family was extremely happy and ecstatic to visit Hecht Museum again. In an email to HuffPost, she noted there was no lingering unease during the reunion.

“The guided tour they received from the museum staff and the opportunity to experience the restoration kit firsthand will more than make up for the events of last week,” Rivlin added.

The 4-year-old, named Ariel, was touring the museum with his family when he got too close to a jar dating to the Middle Bronze Age, causing it to topple, according to the museum’s previous report. This jar had been described as an “impressive find,” with Rivlin noting that “similar jars have been found in archaeological excavations, but most were found broken or incomplete.”

Reviewing surveillance footage, the museum authorities confirmed that the jar’s destruction was a complete accident. They insisted, “we hold no animosity toward the child or his family.” Rather than punishing Ariel, the museum wanted to use the incident as a teaching moment to educate the child and other visitors.

During his visit on Friday, Ariel and his family were given a restoration kit and assembled another small, broken jar. The original broken artifact will eventually be restored by a specialist, a task expected to take one to two weeks. Once restored, it will go back on display at the museum’s entrance along with information documenting its restoration process displayed on a nearby tablet device, Rivlin said.

Rivlin mentioned that the museum hasn’t decided yet whether to protect the jar with additional barriers. The museum previously stated that it tries not to place barriers like glass around artifacts whenever possible so that guests can have a clear view of them.

“At a time when reality sometimes appears to be difficult to comprehend, it is more important than ever to engage with culture, history, and values,” the museum’s statement read on Friday. “While the saddening incident embodied in the figure of a child who, out of pure curiosity, shatters 3,500 years of history is not without irony, we are proud to have continued generating public interest in museums and their central role and importance in the community.”

Rivlin expects to see more of Ariel in the future. “As indicated by Ariel’s questions, inquiries, and interest during the visit, we may be dealing with Israel’s next leading archaeologist,” she said. “It is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Source: HuffPost