The MURUS program, Murailles romaines à l’Unesco et Sociétés, winner in 2022 of the call for proposals “Enjeux sociétaux” of the MSH Ange-Guépin de Nantes, aims to analyze the ways in which late Roman fortifications are appropriated, in the light of the broadening of the notion of heritage, now perceived as a heritage appropriated by all. The participatory approach is the methodological foundation of the project, which aims to involve local residents by collecting private documents, memories, perceptions and current practices, and to co-construct with them projects for the enhancement and governance of the Unesco heritage. It relies mainly on participatory workshops, implemented in Lugo and Le Mans, and to come in Rome, which have made it possible to collect local practices, draw a sensitive cartography and envisage the enclosure of the future. Faced with the difficulty of getting people involved in the Le Mans workshops, the researchers revised their initial hypothesis of local enthusiasm for the bid. Nevertheless, despite the difficulties encountered by the researchers, the results obtained encourage a more detailed re-reading of the inhabitants’ appropriation of their archaeological heritage, and enable the development of new knowledges about Roman fortifications today. Keywords: .