This wording is a bit confusing. I wonder if it means "dating back 5000 years" or "dating back to 5000 BC"?
I agree. Understood it to mean 1800BC is confirmed and 5000BC is suspected.(?) Or, 1800BC has been excavated and 5,000BC hasn't. (?)
Obviously, ESL at work, also Syrian gov't propaganda.
7000 years ago, there were some towns in Syria, and towns near it, such as Jericho. The ceramic period started, hmm, I'll have to look that up -- either 8000 years ago, or 6000 years ago. There's a site on Cyprus that is preceramic, and they were exiles from the mainland (that conclusion was based on the animals they kept around for food) due to the ingress of the ceramic ne'er-do-wells.