The roof of Cairn F had already collapsed when excavations began in 1911. During the excavations, a fallen standing stone 1.5 metres long was discovered within the chamber. This pillar-stone must have broken some time before the collapse of the roof, as cremated human remains were found spread over the stump. According to R. A. S. Macalister who excavated Cairn F: "It is possible that the resting-place was chosen on account of some special sanctity attaching to the stone; for after much discussion we can find no satisfactory alternative to regarding it as a religious emblem. This being assumed, the question presents itself whether we may not have here something more than a mere burial place. May we not have some sort of temple? The grandiose scale of the architecture, the large entrance doorway, the peculiar ground-plan, and, above all, the standing stone, all mark this carn out conspicuously from the rest"