An abandoned hilltop settlement about 12 miles east of Ashkelon, visible as a prominent mound from the Inland Route. Tel Maresha was once a thriving town but was destroyed years ago and never rebuilt.
The tel rises steeply from the surrounding farmland, its slopes littered with broken pottery, stone blocks, and the stumps of ancient walls. The summit is crowned with ruins - collapsed buildings, a broken wall circuit, and what might have been a temple. Locals avoid the place, claiming it's cursed or haunted.
No one living remembers Tel Maresha as a functioning town. The oldest stories say it was destroyed in a war, but accounts differ on when and by whom. Some say Egyptian armies, others blame raiders from the sea, still others whisper of divine punishment for some forgotten sin.
Despite the ruins' ill reputation, treasure hunters occasionally excavate here, seeking valuables from the old city. Shepherds use the lower slopes for grazing but won't stay after dark. Some merchants use the tel as a landmark for navigation.