A TEAM of conservation experts are hoping to unearth some hidden treasures as historic Newhailes House takes part in a £1.3million initiative.

Project Reveal is taking place at all of the sites cared for by the country’s conservation charity, National Trust for Scotland, to update their information and collect pictures of every item in its care.

A team of four will be hard at work at the Musselburgh mansion for the next few months, recording and photographing every single piece of the collection which was amassed over the centuries by the Dalrymple family.

Simon Skinner, trust chief executive, said: “This is a huge project both for the trust and for the heritage of Scotland. “It will mean we know so much more about the many treasures in our care and this information will help us as we strive to share Scotland’s spectacular scenery, amazing history and unforgettable experiences with more visitors, in more engaging and relevant ways.”

Wendy Turner, project manager for Project Reveal added: “Much of this work will be taking place in full view of our visitors so we will be revealing, not just our collections at Newhailes, but our working methods as well.

“We fully expect the teams to find hidden treasures and to uncover new stories about our collections here in East Lothian and beyond.”

Teams have also started work at other sites across Scotland with 47 included in the project.

They will be blogging about their work as they go.

To keep up to date with the latest news go to www.nts.org.uk #ProjectReveal

Newhailes originally dates to the 1680s.

In 1709 the estate was purchased by the Dalrymple dynasty in the form of Sir David, 1st Baronet of Hailes, who served as Scotland’s Solicitor General and Lord Advocate. In the decades that followed, Newhailes came to be seen as one of Scotland’s most beautiful Palladian-style country houses. It was claimed that the English writer Dr Samuel Johnston described its library as “the most learned drawing room in Europe”.

Newhailes became a centre of attraction for many figures involved in the Scottish Enlightenment and a location for many fevered conversations on society, politics, economics, art and science that helped shape the world.