diff --git a/pageserver/src/layered_repository/filename.rs b/pageserver/src/layered_repository/filename.rs
index ab16682af6..8eafd72243 100644
--- a/pageserver/src/layered_repository/filename.rs
+++ b/pageserver/src/layered_repository/filename.rs
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ pub fn list_files(
             deltafiles.push(deltafilename);
         } else if let Some(imgfilename) = ImageFileName::from_str(fname) {
             imgfiles.push(imgfilename);
-        } else if fname == "wal" || fname == "metadata" {
+        } else if fname == "wal" || fname == "metadata" || fname == "ancestor" {
             // ignore these
         } else {
             warn!("unrecognized filename in timeline dir: {}", fname);