Applying UHF RFID Technology to Archaeology

Today, ICT technology is increasingly applied in a variety of environments, including archaeology, with multiple benefits. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is a technology for automatic identification of objects, persons and animals using radio waves. It consists of two components: readers and tags. Tags store information that readers are able to retrieve. Tags may be passive, active (powered by battery) or semi-active. Passive tags are especially convenient since they are small, inexpensive and do not pose maintenance problems. Passive tags transmit their unique id by using the energy induced by the reader. This technology was successfully applied in museums to improve user experience and increase the efficiency of the physical inventory. We discuss the potential of using UHF (Ultra High Frequency) RFID passive tags for efficient tracking and rapid identification of items from archaeological sites to museum, highlighting advantages of this approach, as well as its technological limits.