I see now why you called Discoveries disappointing. There isn't anything on them!

A list with 30 discoveries villages might be using for their own benefit. That's all. In a game about exploration, I think discoveries should actually be the single most important thing of any adventures. Cyphers and artifacts are byproducts that fall off during the exploration for a Discovery site. I would buy a book on nothing but Discoveries, but this is really very much disappointing.
I find it very odd that these play such a little to nonexisting role in RPGs in general. Trying to think of good examples, BioWare has been using them a lot in their games for many years for very great effect. I think in Mass Effect and Dragon Age, almost every second level is really a Discovery site.

Spoiler: DA
Show
The Elven Mirror
Shrine of the Urn
Caradin's Anvil
Primeval Thaig
Sundermount Cave
Gallows Guardians

Spoiler: ME
Show
Beacon on Eden Prime
Thorian on Feros
Rachni Egg on Noverria
The Citadel
Haestrum's Star
Collector Ship
Collector Base
The Lair of the Shadow Broker
Mars Facility
Weather Control Tower on Tuchanka
Prothean Database on Thessia


The only comparable thing I can think of in a published adventure is the final area of City of the Spiderqueen. In a dungeon exploration game like D&D, that is rather weak.

If anything, Numenera made me realize the huge mistake I've long been making, by treating hunts for ancient magic treasures as normal dungeons with some monsters and obstacles, and one or two nice magic items in the very back. The whole place should be a discovery, even if you only find two small pieces that seem practical to take back to your village to share with your people.