Tichitt Walata is the oldest surviving collection of archaeological settlements in West Africa and the oldest of all stone base settlement south of the Sahara. It was built by the Soninke people and is thought to be the precursor of the Ghana empire.[9] It was settled by agropastoral people around 2000 BCE - 300 BCE which makes it almost 1000 years older than previously thought.[10] One finds well laid out streets and fortified compounds all made out of skilled stone masonry. In all, there were 500 settlements.[11][12]