Portuguese seed pod

Can Anyone Identify A Seed Pod I Found In Portugal On August 20 2004?

It Is 4 Inches Long And 1 Inch Wide But Flattened Like A Pea Pod.
It Is Black And Contains A Few Hard Seeds.
From A Distance It Looked Like A Very Old Dried Up Banana Lying On The Ground.
It Had Fallen Off Atree Which Was Similar In Size And Composition To An Old Gnarled Apple Tree.
The Locals Were Harvesting Them.
It Has No Smell And Is Very Hard.
Thank You.
Tony.

 

Likely something in the Pea Family, apparently edible.

 

Sounds like it could be carob. Can you describe the leaves of the tree?

 

Further to my earlier posting, here's a website with a description of carob, including a photo of the seed pod. You'll notice it's mentioned as growing in Spain and Cyprus, although I found it growing in Portugal.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/carob.html