Mount Tsluglukh (Bull's Head) - Armenian Geographic

Mount Tsluglukh is located on the northern part of Geghama mountain range. The height is 2393 m. On old maps, it is mentioned as Mets Lchasar.

The Name of the Mountain

I tried to figure out why the name was changed, but searching it in the internet and in encyclopedias has no result. The name Tslughlukh was indicated on the map that hangs in our office. Therefore, I called the author of the map – Anushavan Barseghyan. He confirmed that now the official name of the mountain is Tsluglukh. The cartographers changed the name of mount Tsluglukh. They were going from village to village, studying the names of the mountains, and then changing them. I was curious about the history of this name, but I did not manage to figure it out. We carefully studied the map of this area and found the answer.

Probably the name was changed because in the Geghama Mountains, north of Azhdahak, there is another mountain called Lchasar (height – 3153 m). It can be assumed that Mount Tsluglukh was renamed to avoid confusion, since both Lchasars are located in the Geghama Mountains and Gegharkunik Region.

Climbing Tsluglukh

We started our hike from the Lchashen village. Lchashen is located on a hill, on a steep northern slope in the Geghama Mountains. In the eastern part of the village, there is one of the oldest archaeological sites in Armenia. It was discovered in the 1950s due to a decrease in the water level in Lake Sevan. Studies prove that Lchashen as a settlement was formed in the fourth millennium BC.

Lchashen is also interesting with its funeral rituals. Many wooden carts were found here, which were buried with the deceased along with horses and oxen. Now you can find such carts in the National History Museum of Armenia.

Carts found in Lchashen

Valuable historical materials found in Lchashen are the model of the solar system, bronze bull statues, a frog made of gold and other gold items, which were probably made in the second millennium BC.

Solar system model

This metal plate is a model of the geocentric solar system. In the center of the lower part is the planet Earth, depicted as a semicircular battle-axe blade with a cruciform base (the image resembles the sign of the planet Earth, adopted in modern astronomical literature). Two rings, representing the layers of water and atmosphere, surround the sign. At the top, a relatively large disc with rays symbolizes the Sun. Between the sun and the earth are five planets visible to the naked eye: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the Moon. The Moon was considered the closest independent luminary to Earth. This arrangement of the geocentric system is also found in medieval Armenian manuscripts.

Plate with the symbolic model of solar system

Finally, one of the most valuable materials found in Lchashen is Urartian record, where Argishti I of Urartu mentions the capture of the city of Ishtikuni. Ishtikuni is the current Lchashen.