Okay, so here's the experiment so far:
I built a fortress named Crushdreams with pop-cap set at 35. The intention was for the dwarves to make two artifacts, while also making everything an adventurer would need to write two books and name two weapons.
Things got off track when Dakost was named queen and most work was focused on building her quarters.
Two artifacts were made: an artifact bracelet (The Standards of Blunting) and an artifact crossbow (Legendesteemed). Both were placed on pedestals in the fortress.
Two pig tail scrolls were assembled and placed on pedestals.
Two iron battle axes were made on Dakost's request, and placed on pedestals.
Fortress was retired and the adventurer Ushrir Smashpages was made.
He took the two scrolls and wrote two books: Research Tulip and My Friend Ivory
He took the two axes and named them Breaksable and Smashedhope
These four items were taken back to Crushdreams and placed on pedestals. Ushrir retired in the nearest dwarven hillock.
Crushdreams was unretired, and finding that the queen had abandoned them, the dwarves went mad. Smashedhope, Legendesteemed, and Research Tulip were all placed under a bridge and smashed. The artifacts screen oddly did not list the non-smashed artifacts, and only listed those three followed by the tag (destroyed/transformed).
The fortress was retired, and unretired - only the 3 non-destroyed artifacts were present (still on pedestals), the other three were no where to be seen.
The fortress was abandoned.
A new fortress was built to the south - randomly named Cudgelmasters.
No artifacts are listed on the C screen when you look at Crushdreams. The only artifacts in the artifact tab of that screen are the 3 non-crushed ones and two slabs related to the goblin leaders.
I sent a squad to seek out The Standards of Blunting who immediately returned with nothing in their mission report (left site and immediately came back). I sent the dwarves to explore the abandoned site of Crushdreams and they found the 3 non-destroyed artifacts.
Reclaiming Crushdreams after abandonment did not make the items reappear.
Legends mode states that the 3 artifacts have been destroyed.
Considering how the game treated the objects, I expect they are all in the same classification, that is, if artifacts can reappear in the world, so can books and named items. I'll play in this world for a while and see if I can get any of the items to reappear. Perhaps I can take these two goblin civs down a peg, or the next caravan might have more information on the items.
Also, Ushrir died in defense of the hillock at some point. He took 3 goblins down with him.