Ashkelon National Park is a fascinating antiquities site, a park in which to spend time in the heart of nature, and a wonderful bathing beach – all in one.
Ashkelon National Park covers an area of 3,000 dunams. The park contains Tel Ashkelon and the remains of ancient Ashkelon, bounded by the Canaanite rampart, as well as 1,000 dunams of sand and kurkar dunes in the south of the park, between the rampart and the Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline site.
In biblical times, Ashkelon was one of the cities of the Philistine pentapolis. The city is mentioned in David's lament over the deaths of Saul and Jonathan. "Tell it not in Gat, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult" (2 Samuel 1:20).
Ashkelon is also related to the heroic deeds of Samson. It was here that Samson struck down 30 Philistines and took their garments to pay his companions after they solved his famous riddle (Judges 14).