A rare Bronze Age jar accidentally smashed by a curious 4-year-old visiting a museum in Israel was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together. Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the Hecht Museum in Haifa when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces. The jar was one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum's vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process. Rivlin said the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. "Well, he's just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world," said Rivlin. The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar, the AP reports. Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar's impressive size remains. The only noticeable difference in the exhibit is a new sign reading "please don't touch."
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