diff --git a/rules.mak b/rules.mak
index d11a5b4f00..edc2552f08 100644
--- a/rules.mak
+++ b/rules.mak
@@ -88,6 +88,11 @@ config-%.h: config-%.h-timestamp
 config-%.h-timestamp: config-%.mak
 	$(call quiet-command, sh $(SRC_PATH)/scripts/create_config < $< > $@, "  GEN   $(TARGET_DIR)config-$*.h")
 
+.PHONY: clean-timestamp
+clean-timestamp:
+	rm -f *.timestamp
+clean: clean-timestamp
+
 # will delete the target of a rule if commands exit with a nonzero exit status
 .DELETE_ON_ERROR: