Roman Phalangites?

[Urselius]

By the time of Julian we know from descriptions that the Roman infantry had re-adopted a type of phalanx tactics. The use of the hasta and the interlocked shields described by Ammianus and Jordanes can mean nothing else. The Late Roman phalanx differed from the earlier Greek phalanx in one major respect: the rear ranks retained the use of missiles. In a way it was a reversal of the manipular legion; instead of the phalanx, triarii, being at the back behind the javelineers, they were at the front.