Outlook for Mac lost all my "on my computer" folders

Ok this is what happened - exact sequence

working on outlook 2 days ago (Tuesday) did something else on machine, went back into outlook and got error message said to rebuild database. selected rebuild - Took 5-6 hours!

error message can't be rebuilt
retried several times

used time machine to go back to monday morning
same as above

used time machine to go back to saturday
same as above

created new identity
same as above

searched www. came across
How to recover missing Outlook 2011 data like emails and contacts
followed advice and found and moved Outlook for Mac Archive.olm

Hey presto
BUT all my "on my computer" folders are gone - and these were my archives year by year and essential to me. I have searched for .olm files etc etc no avail. In the identities folders there are just folders by size e.g. 0k 10k 20k etc etc. No archive folders I can see. Am looking with hidden files visible.

Help! can anyone advise? Would they be stored on time machine and if so how do I use it to get them back? Repeat all the above going back even further? (Why not, after all it was so much fun for the last 2 days)

PS am relative newbie to mac
running maverick - on a macbook pro - with time machine - backing up to a 2tb external hard drive
so be gentle with me!

The only thing I can suggest is go back far enough in Time Machine until you can recover all your Outlook folders and data base. Outlook 2011 is a version 1 application for the Mac. Don't confuse it with the Windows version which works and is stable. We have had many such questions same as yours - mostly regarding the same thing.

If you run into problems, there's always the Microsoft Outlook for Mac forum that you can access and post your question there. The MS MVP folks that hang out there are very good at getting things fixed. Here's the LINK. Note: It requires joining the forums - but is free.