Ancient jar shattered by child restored and put back on display

A 3,500 year-old Bronze Age jar is back on display after being accidentally broken by a curious child. Rather than taking legal action or punishing the family, the museum pegged the incident as part of the artifact's evolving story.

The jar, dating back before the Bronze Age collapse, was one of the Hecht Museum's most treasured artifacts. It is believed the vessel's original purpose was to carry supplies like wine and olive oil. While the jar being broken could have been a disaster, the museum took a different approach.

Hecht Museum Director Dr. Inbal Rivlin reached out to the family and invited them back for a special tour and workshop on restoring ceramic jugs. The child, 4-year-old Ariel Geller, was gifted a hat and a mini ceramic jug as a reminder of the experience.

Now the jar has been carefully repaired, though some of the crack marks were deliberately left visible. They even left a small piece of the jug missing , with the museum curator stating "everything that happens to an object is part of its history, even the missing part."

While the Geller family was initially nervous about potential consequences, they were grateful for how things turned out. After the incident, Rivlin noted that their Facebook page received a lot of attention, getting messages from people around the world wanting to be a part of the restoration.

The jar will continue to be displayed without a protective barrier , staying true to the museum's mission of bringing history closer to the public.

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