thats the beauty i think, there tons of very valueable items just lying around or easily accessable but you don't know where they are at first
And this is even more beautiful if you're like me: you forget where everything is! Normally I have a splendid memory, but for some reason, I can't remember which treasure is where in Morrowind. I get surprised over and over again!
An example:
Spoiler I think one artifact is in a cave where you go during the main quest. There is a greenish tint in that cave, and it's high and full of high stone pillars. The item is found from one of these pillars. And I think it's a staff. But honestly, I have no idea what staff it is, where this cave is or what is its name, even though I've done the MQ at least twice and found this item at least twice as well...
The easiest treasures for me are those that are "given away" in late faction quests. The Imperial Cult oracle, for example, tells you the locations of many artifacts during the questline. Items with no quests related to them are almost always harder to find. Like Dragonbone Cuirass for example. I think I got very lucky when I accidentally stumbled upon it once maybe two years ago real time.
There are a few items you can pretty much find with following clues the game gives to you. One thing that comes to mind is, check what people at Ebonheart gossip about a stolen item, and follow the lead. There's also a quest to it, but I originally found it without knowing it was a quest item too.
And about only location I can remember is
, a cave that I once searched without a reason. Not that the thing there is among the easiest to find - you should really take your eyes off of the seemingly best loot there is and look around a bit more. I still think that "hideout" is genius. I've seen many posts in these forums along the lines of, "Wow, look what I found in there!", while those people still had really missed the biggest treasure there is.