Facebook has reversed a ban on the album artwork for Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy.

The social network this week banned the famous cover because it contains nude images of children.

However, it has since the reversed the decision, noting that it is a "culturally significant image."

In a statement, the company said it was restoring the posts that were removed and would adjust its review mechanisms to permit the sharing of the image by all users going forward.

It said it would allow similar content on a case-by-case basis in the future.

"While we don’t allow nude images of children on Facebook, we will at times allow content that might otherwise violate our standards if we feel that it is newsworthy, significant, or important to the public interest," it said.

Led Zeppelin's fifth studio album, Houses of the Holy has gone 10-tens platinum since it was released in 1974.

The artwork, created by London art collective Hipgnosis, is a collage of images  featuring the naked children climbing the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim.

A general view of the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim which was used as the setting for the cover of Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy. Image: Paul Faith/PA Archive/PA Images

It was inspired by the Arthur C. Clarke novel, Childhood's End which featured hundreds of naked children roaming the planet.

Hipgnosis specialised in album artwork - creating pieces for the likes of Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, AC/DC and Black Sabbath.

The Houses of the Holy cover was nominated for a Grammy on its release - eventually losing out the artwork for The Who's soundtrack to the film Tommy.