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
alluvial 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. 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 inscription by
Urartian 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
Antiquity and the
Middle Ages, Sotk was part of
Syunik, one of the
regions of the
ancient and the
medieval 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.
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. 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==