[Just mythoughts]

Regardless of the caveat given, if what is put forth as possible possibilities of who, what, when, and where goes against what is WRITTEN then it is a dead end.

Seems one major piece of the puzzle of who and where the "Ten Tribes" are, is the "WHY" they are LOST. Remembering the reason they got "LOST" so they don't know who they are keeps them "LOST".

[Cronos]

Exactly. I don't believe that the Assyrians would deport people but keep them together in 'tribes'. This would have been dangerous to them -- disgruntled people far from their homeland, ith nothing to lose AND in a large group would be dangerous, so they split them up. Most would have intermarried and disappered into the local populations (they did have a penchant for doing so as demonstrated in Kings I&II) while other diverse, small groups would move far. But they would be small. Many, when Judah was restored would return