During a visit to the Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa in Israel, the boy’s father was shocked to see his son next to a broken Bronze Age jar. The boy’s father told the BBC that at first he thought “it’s not my child who did this” but later told museum staff what had happened when his son calmed down. The museum said they would not penalise the boy as the incident was an accident.

“There are cases where exhibits are deliberately damaged and such cases are dealt with very strictly, including through police intervention,” said Leahy Laszlo, a spokesman for the University of Haifa, which operates the museum.

According to the museum, it dates to the Bronze Age, between 2200 BC and 1500 BC, before King David. It was probably designed to store and transport local ingredients, especially wine and olive oil.

Similar jugs have been found during archaeological excavations, but most are broken or incomplete, making this intact jug particularly rare.

Museum director Inbal Rivlin said the jar was displayed at the museum’s entrance without any glass partitions, an unusual practice for museums but in line with the founder’s vision of making archaeological objects accessible to the public.

“The museum believes there is a special appeal in experiencing an archaeological find without any barriers, and despite the rare jar case, the Hecht Museum will continue that tradition,” Rivlin told Business Insider.

Rivlin invited the boy and his family to a guided tour of the museum this week, which they agreed to do publicly. A conservationist has also been asked to restore the jar, which is expected to be restored to its former glory soon.