The four criteria for assessing class importance apply to flint mines as follows:

Period (currency): Long-lived. The tradition of obtaining flint from underground workings spanned all the Neolithic and early Bronze Age, from before 3000 RCYBC to about 1800 RCYBC.

Rarity: Very rare. Only about 20 flint mines are currently known in England and although more sites undoubtedly await discovery it is unlikely that this was ever an especially numerous class of monument.

Diversity (form): High. Although it is impossible to classify flint mines very precisely on the basis of their layout or constituent components it is possible to recognize three main kinds of working and at least three main divisions in the overall range of size of site.

Period (representativity): Very high. Flint mines are one of relatively few classes of monuments dating to all phases of the Neolithic period. They also contain evidence relating to technology and work organization in the period and represent the source of the most commonly used and widespread material available for making edged tools and implements.

Assigning scores to these criteria following the system set out in the Monument Evaluation Manual, flint mines yield a Class Importance Value of 57. This lies towards the very top of the range of possible values (max.= 64) reflecting the rarity, long currency, and representativity of flint mines. Examples containing the main kinds of working, and examples representing the main variations in size and position must also be included in the sample of nationally important sites.