GOLD PIECE NAMED MUSIC RAFT ON EXHIBIT AT THE GOLD MUSEUM OF BOGOTA, 2002-09-16 (photo)

This is the gold piece named "La Balsa Muisca" or "Muisca Raft", the most representative legendary piece on display at the Gold museum of Bogota, as seen September 16, 2002. Since the arrival of the Spanish here in 1536, a tenth of a ton of gold artifacts has been fished from its muddy bottom by brash treasure-hunters and explorers, including this solid gold miniature, discovered in a cave in 968, that depicts the Golden Man and his shamans aboard their raft, midway into their ritual. The ancient ritual of the Golden Man - "El Dorado" in Spanish - disappeared long before the arrival of the Spanish in South America, but the legend lured droves of conquistadors and looters to this small lake in the Colombian Andes. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/FEATURE/COLOMBIA-ELDORADO JMG/GN