There's Pratchett's book The Dark Side of the Sun, in which one of the alien races, the Jokers, is known only by the artefacts they've left behind. These includ

There's Pratchett's book The Dark Side of the Sun, in which one of the alien races, the Jokers, is known only by the artefacts they've left behind. These include fossils from the future, monomolecular towers, and ring stars.