The four criteria for assessing class importance apply to pit circles as follows:
- Period (currency): Long lived. The tradition of building and using pit circles seems to span most of the middle and late Neolithic, a total of six or seven centuries.
- Rarity: Very rare. Only about 13 examples have been recorded in England to date and while this undoubtedly represents an underestimate of the actual number known it is likely from preent evidence that pit circles represent one of the least numerous classes of Neolithic monuments.
- Diversity (form): Low. Only two main types can at present be identified, although further subdivisions based on the presence/absence of postholes along the line of pit circle itself may be proposed.
- Period (representativity): High. Pit circles are one of relatively few monument classes of monument known for the Neolithic period.
Assigning scores to these criteria following the system set out in the Monument Evaluation Manual, pit circles yield a Class Importance Value of 42. This lies almost two-thirds of the way up the range of possible values (max.= 64) reflecting the rarity and longevity of the class. Examples representing both identifiable types, and, if possible, variations in size and position, must also be included in the sample of nationally important sites. It may be noted, however, that a large proportion of known examples have been excavated and that the number available for preservation is likely to be but a small fraction of the class as a whole.