Expendable tamper evident security seal

A method of monitoring a mechanism to which physical access is required in order to open or close an access-way, comprising:

• Providing:
• an embedding material moldable into a shape conforming to the mechanism and adapted to be applied to the mechanism;
• circuit components randomly embedded in the embedding material so as to be arranged in positions and orientations corresponding to the shape, whereby physical access to the mechanism that alters the shape of the embedding material correspondingly alters the different positions and orientations of the circuit components in the material;
• and
• an EID including
• a physical orienting mechanism for physically contacting the embedding material so as to physically orient the EID in a fixed position relative to the circuit components in the embedding material;
• and
• components for transceiving wireless signals with the circuit components;
• applying the embedding material to the mechanism when the access-way is closed;
• using the EID,
• physically contacting the embedding material with the orienting mechanism so as to establish the fixed position of the EID;
• wirelessly inducing in the circuit components an electromagnetic spectral response indicative of the relative position between the EID and the circuit components while the EID is in the fixed position;
• measuring the spectral response;
• and
• storing the measured spectral response.