I need a subgenre name

[james_davis_nicoll]

What do you call those books where the characters go in search of (or accidentally discover) some relic of a past civilization, one that may be tremendously advanced compared to the protagonists' civilization, only to see the relic destroyed or otherwise removed from play. The protagonists can trigger the loss but it shouldn't be their goal.

Huh. You know, listing examples is kind of a spoiler for those examples.



Rendezvous with Rama would count. Ditto that old John Wyndham The Secret People, I think. Disney's Atlantis, except I think there was a sequel.