I’d have been very surprised if there wasn’t some sort of fishing village minor port at such a prime location. Honestly, archeologists ought to think in terms of real estate and/or economics a little.
Upon further reflection, I’d say the article probably reflects the writer’s surprise as opposed to the archeologist who was probably just flacking his fieldwork. I probably shouldn’t have shot from the hip at the archeologist.
Since a chunk of the city slid right into the Med, I’m a little mystified how it could be proven, but I’ve always been a little impressed with the (unrelated culture) the Sumerian belief that humans didn’t found cities.