‘I couldn’t believe it was my son who did it’: boy, 4, smashes bronze age jar in Israel museum

The boy’s father, Alex, said his son had pulled on the jar to see what was inside when it fell to the floor and smashed. Photograph: Hecht Museum

A rare bronze age jar – its history stretching back at least 3,500 years – had long graced the entrance of the Hecht Museum in Haifa, Israel, offering visitors a closeup look at an intact artefact believed to predate the biblical King David and King Solomon.

That is, until it was accidentally smashed by a four-year-old earlier this week.