The University of Leicester discovered the bronze fittings from a 2nd or 3rd Century BC chariot at the Iron Age fort Burrough Hill.
Experts believe the chariot was either dismantled, or never built, and buried in a box and burnt as part of a ritual.
It is thought the chariot would have belonged to a high-status individual such as a noble or warrior.
The discovery was made by student Nora Battermann during a five-year project by the university's school of archaeology.  The parts were found in a deep pit near the remains of a house within the hill-fort near Melton Mowbray.
Dr Jeremy Taylor, from the university, said: "I've been digging for the best part of 30 years and never found anything like it.  It's a once-in-a-career discovery.
"To find a chariot is rare - in east Yorkshire there was a practice of chariot burial but outside that area it is extremely rare to find one."
Experts believe the fittings, which are highly decorative, were put in a box and then placed on a layer of cereal chaff and burnt as part of a religious ritual.
The parts, which were also found with tools thought to be equine related, have been cleaned up and will go on display at Melton's Carnegie Museum.
Explore the Iron Age
Remains of an "extremely rare" Iron Age chariot have been uncovered during an excavation in Leicestershire.