ABSTRACTSRadon and subsequent members of the uranium‐238 decay chain are responsible for an appreciable fraction of the radiation dosage received by pottery. Consequently in thermoluminescent dating calculations it is necessary to make an estimate of the degree to which this gas was escaping during burial. Direct measurement of the radon accumulated from pottery fragments indicates that wet conditions do not drastically inhibit the escape of radon, contrary to what has usually been assumed in thermoluminescent dating up till no