G. Dalman, Arbeit Und Sitte in Palastina 6
Until quite recently nomadic Bedouin pitched their tents around central spaces where their fiocks could be gathered at night. This photo, taken in 1939, shows such an encampment.
In the 11th or 10th century B.C, when desert nomads settled down, they may have built stone encampments that followed this type of layout—a chain of rooms (like tents) ringing an oval enclosure for the herds.