Drawings by the renowned architect Robert Adam, who designed some of the most impressive buildings of the Georgian era, have been uncovered for the first time in 170 years.

Adam's family glued around 9,000 of his drawings into 57 albums and in the process hid hundreds of sketches, plans and letters on the back of the paper which he used for his designs.

Some of the hidden material has now been revealed for the first time since the early 19th century with the aid of a technique involving digital photography and computer software.