Roman city of Complutum and the House of Hippolytus

On the outskirts, next to the El Juncal sports complex, are the forum of Complutum, with its baths and basilica, and the House of the Griffins, with wall paintings in a very rare state of preservation. On the other side of Avenida de Madrid is the House of Hippolytus, with the fish mosaic. The tourist office presents it as the most important visitable archaeological site in the Community of Madrid, and entry is free.

The Roman city

Complutum arose in the 1st century BC and under Augustus was laid out with straight streets in a grid, porticoes, forums, public baths and refined houses. It came to cover more than 50 hectares, on the road linking Augusta Emerita (Mérida) with Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza), and is the origin of present-day Alcalá. In the forum area you walk past a monumental façade, streets and water conduits, the so-called Paredón del Milagro, which is the north façade of the curia and the basilica, the civil basilica, the market and the baths.

The House of the Griffins is a stately home that keeps, according to the tourist office, the best-preserved collection of Roman wall painting in Spain. It is seen on its own tour: on Saturdays at 13:00, half an hour in a small group, free with prior registration on 650 509 186 (Tuesday to Friday, 10:00 to 14:00). One Sunday a month there is also a two-hour technical visit, also free and with registration; the next ones are 15 November and 6 December 2026.

The House of Hippolytus

Despite the name, it was not a house: it was a leisure complex of the Annius family, built around the year 300 over earlier structures, interpreted as a meeting place for a college of young men or as a spa. The great central hall, probably a frigidarium with two pools, has the mosaic that gives the complex its name: three child fishermen surrounded by octopuses, squid, dolphins, tuna, sea urchins and moray eels, signed by the artist Hippolytus. It also had hot rooms, latrines with mosaics and a garden with semicircular benches for 60 to 80 people. In the 4th century the northern area became a necropolis and the central hall was very probably turned into a church. In March 1999 it became the first visitable archaeological site in the Community of Madrid.

Opening hours and tours

The site is open Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays from 10:00 to 14:00; in the afternoon, from 16:00 to 18:00 from October to April and from 17:00 to 19:00 in May, June and September; in July and August, mornings only. Every Saturday at 10:00 there is a free one-hour guided tour, without registration, leaving from the guide's hut; it takes 30 people on a first-come basis and does not admit groups. For something more in depth, CompluTour offers a paid tour with an archaeologist.

The Antiquarium, at Calle Antonio Suárez, 12, is the interpretation centre: about 1,000 m² of exhibition in eight spaces, from the founding of the city to the games and chariot races. Free entry, Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 18:00 in winter.

Getting there

The urban buses L-1A, L-1B and L-6 arrive; from the centre it is about a 25-minute walk. The ground is flat. To continue with the objects found here, the Regional Archaeological Museum, in the centre, is free. Archaeology service information on 91 877 17 50.