Press Release

Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, has uncovered a significant archaeological find on its A9/A85 Perth Transport Futures project for Perth and Kinross Council.

The stone, uncovered by the Balfour Beatty team and identified by museum experts, displays a unique design previously unknown in the region. This momentous historical find is a first for Perth and Kinross and acknowledges the importance of the local area in the ancient Pictish times.

In line with the Perth and Kinross local development, planning and archaeology policy, all works ceased on site to allow archaeologists to inspect the stone and the site of its discovery. The study of the carving and what it can reveal about life in Pictish Scotland will continue and the carving will be donated to a museum over the coming months.

Alec Campbell, one of the two Balfour Beatty employees who uncovered the stone, said: “Once the dig was done, we were clearing the area. We flipped the stone over to take it away and knew we had found something different.”

David Strachan of Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust added: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank the finders of the carving for drawing it to our attention.

"This is a really significant find as there are very few such stones known in Scotland, it's a signal of the importance of the area in Pictish times."

Balfour Beatty was appointed to deliver the first phase of the Perth Transport Futures Project, which will support growth in Scotland’s third fastest developing region in 2016. Following the discovery, works have now recommenced on site and are due for completion next year.

ENDS

Media enquiries to:

Vivienne Dunn

Balfour Beatty

+44 (0)207 963 2150

vivienne.dunn@balfourbeatty.com

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All non-media related enquiries should be directed to +44 (0)20 7216 6800 or info@balfourbeatty.com

Notes to editors:

• Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) is a leading international infrastructure group. With 30,000 employees, we provide innovative and efficient infrastructure that underpins our daily lives, supports communities and enables economic growth. We finance, develop, build and maintain complex infrastructure such as transportation, power and utility systems, social and commercial buildings.

• Our main geographies are the UK, US and Far East. Over the last 100 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world including the London Olympics’ Aquatic Centre, Hong Kong’s first Zero Carbon building, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in the US and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

• Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, has been operating in Scotland for over a century. Today, the company employs 2,000 people across Scotland and works with a supply chain that includes a substantial proportion of local businesses.

• The company’s construction business recently completed the award winning Holyrood Student Accommodation development, providing 1,180 student beds within the World Heritage Site of Holyrood in the City of Edinburgh and the construction of a Typhoon Propulsion Service Facility to support the rebuild and supply of the EJ200 engines used by 3 Typhoon Squadron.

• Significant projects in the Company’s current portfolio include the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route which will improve the transport network in Aberdeen and across the north east of Scotland, the £14m Almondbank Flood Defence Scheme to deliver a series of flood defences along the River Almond and construct a temporary flood storage unit and the Perth Transport Futures project which will see the creation of a new junction on the A9 dual carriageway to support growth in Scotland’s third busiest region.

• Iconic projects of the past include the refurbishment of Forth Bridge which was nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Status and carries the East Coast Mainline over the Firth of Forth, the Fife General Hospital and Maternity Services provision which centralises specialist in-patient, acute and emergency services on one site and the restoration and extension of Lewis Castle and Museum Nan Eilean to provide a new museum, archive and hospitality facility on the Isle of Lewis.