In the novels of
Arthur C. Clarke, a black
monolith discovered on
Earth itself (buried in
Africa's
Olduvai Gorge) in 2513, more than five hundred years after the discovery of the identical-appearing
TMA-1 monolith buried in
Tycho Crater.
TMA-0 was discovered by one Dr. Stephen Del Marco, after a freak flash flood in the area had removed several meters of topsoil, and subsurface scans revealed the object, which was then excavated. The monolith was surrounded by crude flint tools and bones, arranged as if in offering or sacrifice. The discovery first highlighted the monolith's role as a catalyst of intelligence, helping the first proto-human ape-men evolve into modern humans, and suggested that the larger monolith on the surface of Europa might be attempting to do something similar for Europa's indigenous life-forms. TMA-0, along with TMA-1, vanished without a trace in 3001, at the time that the Europan monolith was destroyed by human software weapons.
Source: Arthur C. Clarke, 3001: The Final Odyssey