I've colonized and/or placed outposts on these planets.
The artifacts look like mine fields and when you select the mine fields you can view hostile/enemies. There seems to be zero benefit to owning an artifact other than trying to win the game via that method… but then there's really no point in trying that method because it would use up a ton of resources which could be better spent winning the game.
I assume in massive games the numbers make sense… but on smaller scale games I don't see how it would work out well. heh.
Edit: I can't get the files to upload in their full size without breaking down their quality… sorry.photo 2.jpgphoto 1.jpg