Four-year-old boy accidentally smashes rare 3,500-year-old jar at Israeli museum

A rare bronze-era jar that was accidentally smashed by a four-year-old child during a visit to the Hecht Museum in Haifa, Israel (Hecht Museum/AP)

A four-year-old boy who accidentally broke a rare 3,500-year-old jar in an Israeli museum has been forgiven and even invited back, as curators hope to turn the disaster into a teachable moment.

Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash last Friday, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.