I'm currently reading Caesar's Women by Colleen McCullough and on a map at the back of the book, Roman insulae (singular: insula) were mentioned as being apartment buildings that were up to 12 storeys. Although of course the Romans built lots of impressive architecture and were amazing engineers, I was surprised by 12-storey apartment buildings. I've looked online and haven't been able to find any evidence of such tall apartment buildings. 4 or 5 storeys, yes. 12, not so much. Does anyone know? @Joel Harris, I know you're an ancient history buff. Do you know anything about Ancient Roman apartment buildings? I gather that however tall they were, it was a bit dangerous to live in the upper floors because of the fire risk and getting out in time...

This poll borrows the Historical Novel Society's categories. What time period do you tend to gravitate towards when reading historical fiction?