Sotk () is a village in the

Vardenis Municipality Gegharkunik (, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenians. Gegharkunik Province is located at the eastern part o ...

of the

Gegharkunik Province Gegharkunik (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenian ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, well known for its gold mines.

Etymology

According to J. Markwart and N. Adonts, the name Sotk may be connected to the name of a tribe called ''Tsavde'' (''atsvots'') mentioned in ancient Armenian sources,Hakobyan T.Ch., Melik-Bakhshyan S.T., Barseghyan H.Ch., ''Hayastani ev harakits shrjanneri teghanunneri bararan (Toponymical Dictionary of Armenia and Surrounding Regions)'', v. 2, 313, Yerevan, 1988–2001. while others connect it with the toponym ''Suta'' (or ''Shuta'') of the Hittite sources (the presence of the Hittites was proposed in the vicinity of

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan () is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater Alpine lake, high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of abov ...

in 2009). According to the 13th century Armenian historian, Stepanos Orbelian, the town and its respective canton were named after the cold and stormy weather.

History

Sotk has been well known for its mines throughout its history. The mines may have been exploited as early as the 2nd millennium BC, evidenced by the discovery of pits, funnels covered with grass, underground workings, wooden tools, stone mortars, washing pots, and more. The mines were used with interruptions until the 14th century AD, and later rediscovered in the 20th century.

Bronze Age

Materials, cemeteries, weapons, bones, and everyday life objects, belonging to the early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, have been found in complexes of settlements around the Sotk mountain pass. During this time, gold may have been acquired by

alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

way, while real mining may have begun in the later Bronze Age. On the southern slope of the mine, ruins of a large ancient settlement are visible, from where a grass-covered path led to the mine (in 1954, this path would be turned into a road for miners). The river valley is covered by artificial oval terraces which steep from the side towards the river flow.Aram Gevorgyan, Arsen Bobokhya
"METALLURGY OF ANCIENT ARMENIA IN CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT"
, ''

Armenian National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) (, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri azgayin akademia'') is the Armenian national academy, functioning as the primary body that conducts research and coordinates activ ...

''. Retrieved on 1 May 2018. West of Sotk, around the nearby town of modern

Vardenis Vardenis ( ) is a town in the Vardenis Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. It is located in the valley of the Masrik River, on the territory of the Masrik artesian basin at Above mean sea level, above sea level, near the south ...

, are some

cyclopean Cyclopean masonry is a type of masonry, stonework found in Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal Engineering tolerance, clearance between adjacent stones and with clay ...

fortresses, with corresponding cemeteries from the 2nd and 1st millennium BC, among which is Tsovak, where there is a

cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

inscription by

Urartian Urartian or Vannic is an extinct Hurro-Urartian language which was spoken by the inhabitants of the ancient kingdom of Urartu (''Biaini'' or ''Biainili'' in Urartian), which was centered on the region around Lake Van and had its capital, Tushp ...

king

Sarduri II Sarduri II (ruled: 764–735 BC) was a King of Urartu, succeeding his father Argishti I to the throne. The Urartian Kingdom was at its peak during his reign, campaigning successfully against several neighbouring powers, including Assyria. Reig ...

. To the north is a settlement of the Kura-Araxes culture. Many other such ruins can be found near Sotk such as in

Chambarak Chambarak () is a town and capital of the Chambarak Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. The current Chambarak town was formed by amalgamation of three settlements: Krasnoselsk, Lower Chambarak (Nerkin Chambarak) and Upper Chamba ...

, indicating the Lake Sevan basin was a significant region, controlled from centers like Ishtikuni ( Lchashen) and confederations of chiefdoms, such as the ''Uduri-Etiuni'' and ''Uelikuni'' (both of which seem to have been Armenian etymologically) mentioned in Urartian sources. Elite tombs in Lchashen were rich with gold, which, according to metallurgical analyses, would have derived from Sotk.

Antiquity to Middle Ages

At some point during the late

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, the

highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

known as "Urartu" became known as "Armenia" (see Urartu § Fall). As the first Armenian political entity expanded eastwards, the regions around Sotk were incorporated as core regions of ancient Armenia. During Antiquity and the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, Sotk was part of Syunik, one of the

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of the

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

and the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

kingdoms of Armenia, where it served as the capital of the region of the same name. Its location on the mountain pass was at a strategic point on the medieval Dvin-

Partav Barda ( ) is a city and the capital of the Barda District in Azerbaijan, located south of Yevlax and on the left bank of the Tartar river. It served as the capital of Caucasian Albania by the end of the 5th century. Barda became the chief city of ...

road, connecting the southern and eastern regions of the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

. The 7th century St. Astvatsatsin Church, an Armenian basilica church with 13th century

khachkars A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosettes, interlaces, and ...

in its walls is located in the village.

Late modern period

The modern village was only founded in 1829, and its official name was ''Zod'' (). The village had an Azerbaijani-majority population before the exodus of Azerbaijanis from Armenia after the outbreak of the

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until 2023, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbai ...

. From 1988 and onwards, Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan settled in the village. In September 2022, Sotk as well as several other Armenian towns, including

(Gegharkunik Province),

Goris Goris ( ) is a town and the centre of the Goris Municipality in the Syunik Province in southern Armenia. Located in the valley of the Goris (or Vararak) River, it is 254 kilometres from the Armenian capital Yerevan and 67 kilometres from the provi ...

(

Syunik Province Syunik (, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital and larg ...

) and

Jermuk Jermuk () is a mountain spa town and the centre of the Jermuk Municipality of the Vayots Dzor Province in southern Armenia, at a road distance of east of the provincial capital Yeghegnadzor. It was considered one of the popular destinations for ...

(

Vayots Dzor Province Vayots Dzor (, ) is a province (''marz'') of Armenia. It lies at the southeastern end of the country, bordering the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan to the west and the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan to the east. It covers an area of . With a ...

), came under attack by

Azerbaijani Armed Forces The Azerbaijani Armed Forces () is the military of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. It was re-established according to the country's Law of the Armed Forces on 9 October 1991. The original Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's armed forces were ...

. Many residential houses were damaged as a result of the shelling; people were displaced from their homes.

Gold mine

A gold mine near the village, called Sotk (Zod), is one of the largest gold deposits in the

. It is located on the border of

Kalbajar District Kalbajar District () is one of the 66 Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan, districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the west of the country and belongs to the East Zangezur Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Lachin Distric ...

in Azerbaijan and

. Kalbajar District was administrated by the breakaway

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

from its control by Armenian forces in 1993 after the Battle of Kalbajar, near the end of the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

, until 2020, when the Armenian side handed it over to Azerbaijan according to the ceasefire agreement, ending the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding occupied territories. It was a major escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, involvi ...

. Azerbaijani forces entered the district on 25 November, and on 26 November, Armenian media reported that a group of 250 Azerbaijani soldiers had arrived at the gold mine, and demanded its handover, establishing a military post at the mine. The Armenian defense ministry refuted this account, stating that Azerbaijani forces, having found an Armenian border checkpoint unacceptable, contacted the Armenian side via loudspeaker and negotiated with Russian peacekeepers over the issue. Armenian and Azerbaijani authorities started to demarcate the border on the same day. Armenian military authorities then stated that half of the mine area had been passed to Azerbaijan.

Demographics

Population

According to

Statistical Committee of Armenia The Statistical Committee of Armenia (), or ArmStat in short, is the national statistical agency of Armenia. History The statistical institution started its main activities on 7 January 1922 and was previously known as the Statistical Departme ...

2011 census, the villages' current population is 824.

Gallery

Սոթքի լեռնանցք 02.jpg, Nature around Sotk Սոթքի սուրբ Աստվածածին եկեղեցի 35.jpg, St. Astvatsatsin Armenian Church interior Սոթքի սուրբ Աստվածածին եկեղեցի 37.jpg, Armenian Khachkar in Sotk Սոթքի սուրբ Աստվածածին եկեղեցի 24.jpg, Entrance with

khachkar A ''khachkar'' (also spelled as ''khatchkar'') or Armenian cross-stone (, , խաչ ''xačʿ'' "cross" + քար ''kʿar'' "stone") is a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross, and often with additional motifs such as rosette (design), rosettes ...

s to the St. Astvatsatsin Armenian Church Սոթքի լեռնանցք 01.jpg, Mountains around Sotk Railroad station in Sotk (Gegarkunik, Armenia).jpg, Railroad station in Sotk

References

External links

World Gazeteer: Armenia
– World-Gazetteer.com * * {{Authority control Populated places in Gegharkunik Province Populated places established in 1969 Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union