Sotk () is a village in the Vardenis Municipality of the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia, well known for its gold mines.
Etymology
According to J. Markwart and
Nicholas Adontz, 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
Hittites sources
(the presence of the Hittites was proposed in the vicinity of
Lake Sevan in 2009).
[Petrosyan A., The ‘Eastern Hittites’ in the South and East of the Armenian Highland? Armenian Journal of Near Eastern Studies IV/1 (2009), pp. 63–72] 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, have been found in complexes of settlements around the Sotk mountain pass.
During this time, gold may have been acquired by
Alluvium 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 Bobokhyan "METALLURGY OF ANCIENT ARMENIA IN CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT" , Armenian National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved on 1 May 2018.] West of Sotk, around the nearby town of modern Vardenis, are some cyclopean fortresses, with corresponding cemeteries from the 2nd and 1st millennium BC, among which is Tsovak, where there is a Cuneiform script inscription by Urartu king Sarduri II. To the north is a settlement of the Kura-Araxes culture. Many other such ruins can be found near Sotk such as in Chambarak, 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 highlands 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 Ancient history and the Middle Ages, Sotk was part of Syunik, one of the regions of the ancient and the Bagratid Armenia 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 road, connecting the southern and eastern regions of the South Caucasus.
The 7th century St. Astvatsatsin Church, an Armenian basilica church with 13th century khachkars 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 ().
[Ադամյան, Ն., ed. Հայկական ՍՍՌ վարչա-տերիտորիալ բաժանումը: Առ 1-ը մարտի 1964 թ. Երևան : Հայաստան , 1964; p. 34, 79] The village had an
Azerbaijanis-majority population before the exodus of Azerbaijanis from Armenia after the outbreak of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. From 1988 and onwards, Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan settled in the village.
In September 2022, Sotk as well as several other Armenian towns, including Vardenis (Gegharkunik Province), Goris (Syunik Province) and Jermuk (Vayots Dzor Province), came under attack by Azerbaijani Armed Forces. 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
South Caucasus.
It is located on the border of Kalbajar District in Azerbaijan and Gegharkunik Province of
Armenia.
Kalbajar District was administrated by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh from its control by Armenian forces in 1993 after the Battle of Kalbajar, near the end of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War,
until 2020, when the Armenian side handed it over to Azerbaijan according to the ceasefire agreement, ending the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Azerbaijani forces entered the district on 25 November,
Demographics
Population
According to Statistical Committee of Armenia 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 to the St. Astvatsatsin Armenian Church
Սոթքի լեռնանցք 01.jpg|Mountains around Sotk
Railroad station in Sotk (Gegarkunik, Armenia).jpg|Railroad station in Sotk
See also
External links
