Four-Year-Old Boy Invited Back to Haifa Museum After Accidentally Breaking 3,500-Year-Old Urn
2 min read
A four-year-old boy called Ariel Geller was invited to the Hecht Museum in Haifa after he knocked over a 3,500-year-old urn of the late bronze age. The event happened last week when the artifact was exhibited at the University of Haifa Museum that provides a unique experience letting people touch the history owing to the absence of glass cases. The Canaan region urn exhibited got broken when Ariel, staring at the display, suddenly slumped on it.
Nevertheless, the museum’s director, Dr. Inbal Rivlin, invited Ariel and his family to return to the museum with a guided tour stating that the museum experience is focused on an educational level. According to a museum official who took Ariel’s family round the process, they were informed of the entire process of restoration and history of the urn. It did not take very long for Ariel’s mother to say that the accident occurred in the blink of an eye such that the child had only wanted to see the contents of the jar before they found themselves scattered all over the floor.
To make the situation seem less frightening the museum gave Ariel a chance to help in the process of restoration of a smaller jar. By applying some of the tools he scaled down the work done by professionals on the ancient urn on the broken artifact and joined the pieces together. Dr. Rivlin also stated that that it is the principle of teaching at this museum that engage people directly into the process of historical conservation.
The urn can be dated from the time period of 2200 to BC 1500 traditionally used in storing and transporting food items like olive oil and wine. Hecht Museum situated in the University of Haifa has free admission and displays many archaeological pieces from Chalcolithic to Byzantine periods. The event and its consequences can only attest to the desire of the museum to present the historical material to the general public and effectively perform its functions in this capacity even when meeting it with certain difficulties.
