diff --git a/middleman-core/fixtures/traversal-app/source/.htaccess b/middleman-core/fixtures/traversal-app/source/.htaccess
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/sitemap/extensions/traversal.rb b/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/sitemap/extensions/traversal.rb
index 729a6204..d5232c47 100644
--- a/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/sitemap/extensions/traversal.rb
+++ b/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/sitemap/extensions/traversal.rb
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ module Middleman
           tail = parts.pop
           is_index = (tail == app.index_file)
 
-          return nil if is_index && parts.length < 1
+          if parts.empty?
+            return is_index ? nil : store.find_resource_by_path(app.index_file)
+          end
 
           test_expr = parts.join('\\/')
           # A makeshift for eponymous reverse-lookup