Well, someone has to go out on a limb here so it may as well be me. I propose that history of the Ancient Mystery Schools, as we know them, is approximately 6000 years old. To say that these are Freemasonry one must be willing to accept all of the Ancient Mystery Schools as antecedents of the Freemasonry that we know today. Additionally, there were probably schools of thought prior to 6000 years ago that are now lost to history. These oral traditions no doubt fed the traditions that evolved into the Ancient Mystery Schools.So I think I'd like to go back to my question.
How old do "you" think freemasonry is? Who/which group started masonry as we know it today? Is there any evidence that someone like Socrates was a Freemason?
But the real question, as I stated before, is not "How old is Freemasonry?" Because the question contains an unspoken assumption. It assumes that we all agree on the answer to the question "What is Freemasonry". I feel that it is valid for me to answer your question because I have already stated my answer to the unspoken assumption in your question in the post quoted below.
I will now don my fireproof suit and wait for comments from my Brethern.
I think it depends on which Freemasonry you are talking about. The time frame for Speculative Freemasonry runs from 1717 to the present. Before that we have two time periods to discuss. The first is the time frame of Operative Freemasonry, and the second is the time frame for the evolution of Operative Freemasonry into Speculative Freemasonry.
But really, any discussion of Operative Freemasonry hangs on one vital question; "What do you think Operative Freemasonry actually is?" Some, perhaps like the Brother you mentioned, see Operative Freemasonry as the pursuit of truth that goes back to the first time a man tried to rise above his fear and superstition and discover the truth about the world around him and his relationship to that world. Others will say that Operative Freemasons were men who stacked rocks and learned enough geometry to build arches and stuff.
To me being a Freemason means to be a protector of knowledge against its three greatest enemies; Fear, Ignorance, and Superstition. In ancient times secrecy was used to protect knowledge from those who sought to destroy it. Today circumspection and silence are recommended.
Many today will say that there is no certain proof of what Operative Freemasonry was all about. Yet there are clues in our history if we can find it in out ourselves to trust our hearts.