A family was enjoying a lovely trip to the the Hecht Museum in Haifa, Israel when they heard a loud crashing sound. The father of the family, a fellow named Alex, turned to see that a huge piece of pottery on display—a 3,500-year-old Bronze Age jar —was in pieces on the museum floor.
"It wasn't my child that did it," Alex thought… hoped… wished.
Alas, it was indeed his four-year-old son who approached the unprotected artifact and "pulled the jar slightly" on its stand as he was "curious about what was inside." Ooops.
Alex comforted the boy, who was utterly distraught about the accident, before explaining to a security guard what happened. According to the BBC News, the museum did a wonderful job handling the situation:
"There are instances where display items are intentionally damaged, and such cases are treated with great severity, including involving the police," Lihi Laszlo from the museum told the BBC.
"In this case, however, this was not the situation. The jar was accidentally damaged by a young child visiting the museum, and the response will be accordingly."
A specialist in conservation has also been appointed to restore the jar, and it will be returned to its spot "in a short time."
Not only that, but the museum has invited the family back for a special tour.
Previously:
• Man notices ancient human jawbone embedded in parents' tile floor
• What is the function of these mysterious ancient Roman dodecahedrons?
• Two imbeciles indicted for gleefully damaging ancient rock formation on video
