In this episode of the EXARC Show, host Jess Shaw discusses heritage interpretation with Caroline Nicolay from Pario Gallico. What does the term cover? What forms can it take? How accurate should it be? What is the role of buildings and why are they important? 

Caroline addresses the challenges for open-air museums to find and hire the right type of living historians for their particular events or activities. She notes that students of classics and archaeology face hurdles getting hired for these types of jobs. Why is that and what can be done to better match ‘supply and demand’ in the heritage sector? 

Caroline shares her ideas on all these issues based on her broad and varied career as a professional living historian who, along the way, developed a keen interest and specialisation in ancient building techniques. This conversation was recorded on November 2nd 2025.

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