It's the pupal case of a caterpillar. Put it in a container with a breathable lid then set on the counter to wait until the moth emerges.

When that occurs, post a picture so that we can refine the ID.

It's really large. Size of my Thumb, about 3" long, and about an inch across. Hard shell. That's an awfully huge caterpillar!

Jean, I'm not inclined to think of this as as moth pupae but the wriggling larvae of a soldier fly.

Absolutely not anything belonging to a wasp of any kind, poster.

It does look like the soldier fly larva, but it's 3x as long... 3" long...

Three inches long and an inch across!

Rear it out as I suggested above. then please post an image of what emerges.

Yes! 3" long.

I did put it in a jar. So hopefully we'll know before too long.

I found this information.... passing it along....

it is a manduca quiquemaculatus moth.... also known as a tomato horn worm.....

Fun when an old thread like this is revived. Cmwtx, I don't think that this was one of the Manduca pupa. Those have a very distinct 'handle' at the top,
very long and hooked, called a maxillary loop. Of course, this picture could be taken at angle that hides the hook. They are typically much smaller than the OP described.

The largest moth pupae that I've seen were those of the Giant Leopard moth and the Regal moth. Both have pupal cases that seem to match.

Nice image of a Tomato hornworn.